Apache upbeat on Egyptian energy prospects

US energy explorer Apache Corp. said tests at a well in the Western Desert of Egypt yielded significant volumes of oil and natural gas. Apache said it was approved for seven new development leases in the Faghur Basin, which it said would add 5,200 barrels of oil per day to its production capacity in the Western Desert. "This significant expansion in development acreage in the Faghur Basin is the result of Apache's strong regional knowledge that enables our geoscientists to identify multi-pay targets as they develop new play concepts," Tom Voytovich, regional vice president for Apache, said in a statement. The latest well in the Faghur Basin, dubbed Neilos-2, had a test flow rate of 6,301 barrels of oil and 4.2 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Apache is drilling three wells in the basin and has plans for 14 more this year. It added that it was evaluating seismic surveys in its 10 million acres of inventory in the Western Desert. Apache in 2011 drilled 11 wells in the region that resulted in nine new field discoveries. It said it was producing 203,000 bpd and 880 mcf in the region, up 3 percent compared with last year. The company paid $650 million to BP for Egyptian development leases in 2010.